Corridor Confessions
by crazyshipperfangirl
Summary: How Sean and Alex's brief interaction in the corridors of Division in 3x06 should have played out. Oneshot.


**A/N: After the heartbreaking scene in 3x06, I knew I had to write this one-shot on how Salex in the Division corridor could - should - have gone. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

They make eye contact at exactly the same moment, and when they do, they both know that an acknowledgement of each other's presence is the very least that is going to happen.

'Hey, you're still here,' she says. Sean looks away, as far away from her as he can.

'Yeah, I just debriefed with Ryan,' he replies awkwardly.

'Great,' she says, looking to the floor. _See?_ His inner voice taunts. _She can't even look at you._ 'Look, about Romania, I just wanted to say – '

He stops her short. 'No need to explain yourself, it's fine,' he interrupts, and his voice catches slightly. She looks at him in confusion.

'I wasn't going to explain myself, I – I just wanted to say "_thank you_,"' she says, a sadness in her voice.

He looks at her with the stony expression of the hardened soldier, the expertise in emotional distance making its long-awaited appearance – at the most soul-crushing time for them both. 'Michael asked me to do a job and I did. That's all,' he says, forcing cold detachment into his voice.

He walks away, determined to put as much distance between himself and this place, himself and _her._

'Sean, wait,' she calls after him. He hesitantly stops before he can even think, he is so used to responding to her voice. He turns around to face her and, with a pained expression, says, 'What? You made it clear that I don't need to be here.'

Her face turns from uncertain to incredulous. _'You_ were the one who dropped a bombshell, gave me an ultimatum and then walked out, all within five minutes. I played no part in your decision to leave!'

'You _are_ the reason I left,' he angrily replies. 'I wasn't going to stand by the sidelines and watch you die, and I asked you to consider leaving an organization which could potentially be the death of you!'

'By leaving Nikita!' she says, throwing her hands up in the air, in frustration. She takes a step closer to him. 'You asked me to choose you or Nikita,' she says, quieter. 'She is my family, Sean.' Her voice is edging on pleading, wanting so desperately for him to understand. 'You asked me to leave my _family_.'

At this, he winces, turning away, trying to tell himself that if he doesn't look into those eyes, that he won't be convinced, he won't stay. She's not having it.

'Will you just look at me for a second?' she says, repeating his words to him. Reluctantly, he obliges.

'After everything, at least hear me out?' she asks. He nods curtly. She inhales. 'My first boyfriend was my pimp, my second was my dealer, and after that there was a guy who I ended up killing and framing as a mole, and another guy who was part of my civilian cover who ended up shooting a Division agent to save my life and then disappeared.'

She says this all in one breath, trying to keep her voice level when talking about the abuse, the pain, the hurt. This is the first time she's said these words out loud, the first person since Nikita who's listened, the first person that actually cares enough to listen. So she continues. 'Basically, I do not have a good history when it comes to relationships. In fact, I don't think I've ever had what anyone would even _call_ a relationship. I am damaged goods, Sean.'

_No,_ he thinks to himself indignantly, _you are so much more._ A part of his heart breaks for her, that she cannot see how amazing she is, that she cannot trust anyone to let them in or believe her when she is told this. Out loud, he says, 'Then why can't you see that I don't want you to get hurt?'

'Because you don't get to make that call,' she replies. 'You don't get to make me choose between you or Nikita. She is the only one who cared about me since my father died, she's saved my life more times that I can count, she got me clean, she gave me something to live for, to fight for. But being here isn't about choosing her over you, Sean,' she adds softly. 'It's about shutting this place down so that everytime we'll go for a walk in the park, I won't have to look over my shoulder to see if someone is pointing a sniper at you. I have to stay here because of _you_ as much as you left because of me - you don't want me hurt inside of Division like I don't want _you_ hurt outside of it. Can't you see that?' Her voice is cracking now, and a single diamond-like tear spills from her eye and lands on her cheek.

He brushes it away with his thumb as fast as it slid down her cheek. 'Yeah,' he breathes. 'I can see that. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I sprung so much on you at once, and I'm sorry I was a selfish jerk.' She smiles sadly. 'I know we're not perfect, and I know we have a lot to work through, but I need you to know I said those things because I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. I can't lose you too, not after... Look, I may have articulated my feelings in a pretty asinine way, but I just want to protect you.'

'I know,' she says. 'You really took the bodyguard cover to heart, huh?'

He smiles bittersweetly. 'You definitely know how to keep me on my toes, then.'

'I really do care about you, Sean,' she says seriously, breaking the lighter mood. 'I can't make you stay, but - but I want you here.'

She swallows, waiting for some kind of response. Eventually, he smiles. 'We do make a pretty awesome team, don't we?'

'You're just saying that because I look hot with a machine gun.'

They laugh. He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead, and she instinctively leans into him, closing her eyes. And they stand there, far from perfect, far from healed, but also far, far from over. And in this moment, they just stand still. They savor the moment, a moment away from the chaos of the world and Division and themselves. They are a snapshot of peace amongst the disorder. They are broken. They can fix each other. They _are_ fixing each other. But right now, they're just standing.

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**A/N: Thoughts? This was just my version on how I wish that scene should have gone. And I may post the odd one-shot now and then to pass the hellatus, along with stalking the Salex tumblr page and spending hours watching fan videos of these two. I just wish my babies could make up and make out already (sighs).**


End file.
